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To: Elroy Jetson who wrote (162917)	11/9/2008 5:57:54 PM
From: Dan3	Respond to of 306849

Re: If plugging-in a plug-in hybrid was not cheaper than gasoline, no one would ever plug one into the wall. They'd visit their local Chevron station for cheaper fuel. Plug-ins can run off coal and nuclear energy, which is domestic and cheaper than foreign oil. Even if pure cost isn't a big benefit, there are other reasons for going to plug-ins. But that's a different issue than the relative thermodynamic efficiency of the two energy strategies. Like I said, I haven't run the numbers, and it's a complex task to do so, but gasoline and diesel are terrific ways to store and transport energy, however it's produced. I often seem to have a different world view than many people. I work with a number of people who are environmental analysts (one thing we do are EIS's for the Federal Government). When I tell them that I think we shouldn't be recycling newspaper but instead dumping it in the ocean, they tend to want to form lynch mobs. But think about it: what better way to sequester atmospheric carbon than to plant a bunch of fast growth trees in the southeast, harvest them, use them once for paper products, then dump that paper into the ocean to become coal in a few million years. Then you plant more seedlings and repeat the cycle at 10 year intervals. To me it just seems to be the obvious solution. To some of my co-workers, it's justification for a necktie party. Especially if a good part of the energy to produce that paper comes from non-fossil sources (hydro, nuclear, or wind) there's a true, permanent net reduction in atmospheric C02. :-)